It will use the chip maker’s software to develop and train the first native large language model for Italian
Fastweb is to install 31 NVIDIA DGX H100 in its datacentres in Lombardy, powered by renewable energy. The system runs on NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD reference architecture and has 248 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs. It is expected to be operational by the first half of 2024.
Fastweb, a subsidiary of Swisscom operating in the Italian market, intends to use the high performing NVIDIA DGX H100 cluster for AI. It will be available in the cloud as an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) to customers to develop AI and generative AI (GenAI) applications.
Learning Italian natively
NVIDIA AI Enterprise software will be used to develop and deploy the first large language model (LLM) natively trained in the Italian language. GenAI experts will work through deep learning systems to develop the LLM based on large data sets in Italian.
The LLM will be a nation-specific platform for the development by Fastweb and third parties of an extensive range of GenAI applications, capable of capturing nuances of the Italian language, its grammar, context and cultural identity.
The combination of NVIDIA DGX H100 systems, the national LLM and Fastweb’s cloud and cybersecurity infrastructures will make available an end-to-end system. This will enable companies, public administration, start-ups and other players to develop GenAI applications for any vertical – from healthcare to education and mobility.
Data governance and transparency
The system relies on the robust and secure management of the data stored in the centres within Italy’s national borders for transparent governance of the LLM and compliance with national and EU policies.
Fastweb’s CEO, Walter Renna (pictured), said, “With this strategic investment, Fastweb strengthens its vocation as an enabler of the country’s digital transformation and creates the foundation to develop AI-based services with a national and sustainable approach.”
Ronnie Vasishta, SVP of Telecom at NVIDIA, added, “As the industry turns its focus toward cloud computing, the telcos of tomorrow will not just be providers of connectivity.
“Fastweb’s investment in the digital transformation of Italy is a profound step toward bringing powerful, efficient and localized computing to AI pioneers in the country.”
Fastweb Digital Academy will launch in 2024, offering basic and advanced courses about AI to allow everyone to gain an understanding of the transformative power of AI is driving across all economic sectors, the press statement said.